The coin is manufactured using a patented distinctive bi-metallic coin locking mechanism.[2] The coins are estimated to last 20 years. The discontinued two-dollar bill was less expensive to manufacture, but on average each bill lasted only one year.[4]

On April 10, 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) announced design changes to the loonie and toonie, which include new security features.[5][6]

Prior to 2012, the coin consisted of an aluminum bronze inner core with a pure nickel outer ring;[7] however in spring 2012 the composition of the inner core switched to aluminum bronze coated with multi-ply plated brass, and the outer ring switched to steel coated with multi-ply plated nickel. The weight dropped from 7.30 to 6.92 grams, and the thickness changed from 1.8 to 1.75 millimetres. The Mint states that multi-ply plated steel technology, already used in Canada's smaller coinage, produces an electromagnetic signature that is harder to counterfeit than that for regular alloy coins; also, using steel provides cost savings and avoids fluctuations in price or supply of nickel.[1][8]

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"Toonie" is a portmanteau word combining the number "two" with the name of the loonie, Canada's one-dollar coin. It is occasionally spelled "twonie" or "twoonie", but Canadian newspapers and the Royal Canadian Mint use the "toonie" spelling.

When the coin was introduced, a number of nicknames were suggested. Some of the early ones included the bearie (analogous to the Loonie and its loon), the bearly, the deuce, the doubloonie (a play on "double loonie" and the former Spanish doubloon coin), and the moonie (because it depicted "the Queen with a bear behind").[9]

Paul Martin announced the replacement of the $2 banknote with a coin in the 1995 federal budget speech.[13] The RCM spent CA$17,400 to canvass 2000 Canadian households about which of the ten theme options they preferred.[13]

Under the direction of Dr. Hieu C. Truong, the RCM engineering division designed the two dollar coin to be made from two different metals. The metals for the bi-metallic coin would be lighter and thinner than those produced anywhere in the world. To join the two parts, the engineering division perfected a bi-mechanic locking mechanism.[14] By the end of 1996, the Winnipeg facility had struck 375 million of these coins.[15] The coin was officially launched at Ben’s Deli in Montreal on February 19, 1996.[14]

The weight of the coin was originally specified as 112.64 grains, equivalent to 7.299 grams.[16]

A failure in the bimetallic locking mechanism in the first batch of Toonies caused some coins to separate if struck hard or frozen. Despite media reports of defective toonies, the Canadian Mint responded that the odds of a toonie falling apart were about 1 in 60 million.[9] It is against the law to deliberately attempt to separate a toonie. Defacing coin currency is a summary offence under the Canadian Criminal Code, section 456.